The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. SATURDAY, MAY 1, 1920. THE STRIKE POSITION.

Southland Times, Issue 18810, 1 May 1920, Page 4

The Southland Times. PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. Luceo Non Uro. SATURDAY, MAY 1, 1920. THE STRIKE POSITION.

The earlier messages yewtorday in regard to the railway trouble gave rise to such a distinct hope that a settlement, even of a temporary nature, would he reached, that the later reports stating that the locomotive men had withdrawn from the conference witti the Prime Minister has come as a keen disappointment. The public will i'ngCt iy au ail uiiy regarding the conference that took place. Mr Massey, one may presume from the success of his meeting with the A..S.R.U. men, had tackled tile pa-itiou in a generaos manner and is evidently now keenly alive to the seriousness oi the position. So far us tlie public is concerned much will depend on the attitude of the men’s representatives at the conference. Wc have not hesitated to criticise the government for its delays and we have expressed the opinion Unit the men enjoy the sympathy of a large section of the public, bill we are not yet. acquainted with the lull terms of their demands,- nor do we know exactly what lengths they were prepared to go to in order to put an (no to the present unsatisfactory situation, but we presume that there was no question at these negotiations of the government being asked to give a definite undertaking out of hand to grant all the demands in full. Sueli an attitude would lose for the men the support they now have, and wo hope, therefore, that they did not display this unreasonableness. Mr Massey is a busy man, and it is necessary for the men to recognise that at the present juncture his lime is not his own. We were led to believe that, the promise of a conference, with the promise of a fair and impartial consideration of the questions in dispute, would sati.-fy t he men at I he present moment, and wc do not think that they can ask for much more, except, of course, assurances regarding their slatus on returning to work. The statements given to the public by the Prime Minister and Mr McAriey do not throw much light on the discussion. Mr Mc.Atiey declares that the men gave way on many points and that Mr Massey declined to gram the one asked of him, but the Prime Minister replies that Mr McAiiey’s ‘'concessions” were unimportant and that the important one asked of him ho could not concede because it would have been unfair to the other railwayman. These statements do not tell us much, but Mr McArley’s version of the negotiations suggests that the executive of the E.F.G.A. was out for something in the nature of an immediate decision in regard to a general increase. His declaration that the E.F.C.A. is ready to acccp.t the offer of a Conciliation Commissioner to go through the schedule of wages and conditions item by item is qualified by the observation that such a- procedure “would take a considerable time and prolong the dispute,” If that moans that there is to bo no return to work until the Conciliation Commissioner has completed his task and effected a settlement, Mr McArlcy has an erroneous view of the attitude of the public in this matter. The resumption of work must bo a condition of the consideration of details. To suggest anything else is out of all reason. The Prime Minister is not very definite in regard to his proposal. He states that he offered what other branches of the railway service bad accepted. We do not know exactly the terms of the settlement with the A.SJR..S., and in view of the attitude of the Officers’ Institute it can hardly be contended that they are satisfied with their position. The Prime Minister’s statementdocs not convey mach information and it is hardly likely to assist matters, but_ Mr McAriey has gone much further and his reference to the prolongation of the dispute if the details are to bo considered is

calculated to do the men a lot of harm ,in the eyes of the public. It is probable that the question of the strikers’ position under the Superannuation Fund regulations played some part in the negotiations, but it is fairly obvious that a decision on that point must rest finally with Parliament. As we said before, we hope that this matter will be dealt with in a generous spirit, in view of the patience displayed by the raiiwaymen in the past, but we feel quite sure that anything suggestive of an unreasonable attitude on their part will react upon them. The general public is vitally interested in these negotiations and its opinions must weigh heavily in the ultimate result, a f apt that the railwaymen must keep steadily in mind. We had hoped that the men would be back to work for the week-end, and we feel sure that the public will be bitterly disappointed if the trouble goes on any longer, but unless the position improves in the next day or so wo fear that an extension of the trouble will he inevitable. If the South Island men go out the producers, and particularly those in Southland, may be heavy sufferers. There has been such a shortage of feed that any interruption in the movement of stock at this stage will have serious effects upon the farmers, and it is to be hoped, therefore, that a settlement may be effected quickly.